1. Field of the Invention
Bed sores, also called decubitis ulcers or pressure sores are an area of disintegrating skin and underlying tissue or ulcer resulting from decreased blood supply to that area and affecting persons who have been bedridden for a long period of time.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Specially designed beds are intended to mitigate this problem. U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,861 and Italian patent 122 0502 are examples of the art in this field. The present invention may also be applied to chairs, e.g. wheelchairs for paraplegics, and divans.
Apparatuses of this kind have suffered from undue complexity in mechanical construction and arrangements. This disadvantage leads in general to a high cost for the apparatus thus imposing a severe limitation on the generality of its potential application.
The art also has reported adverse effects from the application of treatment using these kinds of apparatus. These effects have been reported as a fatigue, vertigo and even nausea resulting from long periods of treatment with the apparatus. These adverse side effects naturally discourage use of the apparatus in the treatment of decubitis ulcers or the reduction of their incidence.